BOB BEYFUSS: This has been a great growing season for pumpkins

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Years ago, when the predominant type of farming operation in our region was dairy farming, it was unusual to see fields of vegetables such as pumpkins ripening.

It appears that this is no longer the case as these bright orange and sometimes other colored fruit, have seemingly appeared almost everywhere, overnight. Prices are also quite reasonable due somewhat to the competition. In general it has been a great growing season! Please purchase your pumpkins as local as possible to help our farmers, preferably from roadside markets.

Although we tend to think of them as objects for decorations, pumpkins or winter squash in general have been a staple food for Americans since long before the pilgrims arrived. They provide important vitamins and minerals that are absent in the main cereal and legume crops such as corn and beans.

Pumpkins combined with a cereal grain, plus a legume, provide all the nutrients we need to survive. These three crops have been grown together as the “Three Sisters” by Iroquois and other Native Americans for perhaps as long as 10,000 years. In terms of yield, few crops can equal the tonnage that a field of pumpkins can achieve. Yields of 15 to 20 tons per acre are not at all uncommon.

Pumpkins can be stored for up to six months if properly handled but typically they will last for about 3 months. For best results harvest fruit as soon as they are mature and prior to frost. Both squashes and pumpkins should be well matured before harvest and storage. In some years when maturity is late, pumpkin fruit with at least 40 to 50 percent of the fruit surface with orange color will continue to ripen after harvest. Use care in handling fruits to avoid wounds. Cuts and bruises in the rind are open to decay organisms that may cause a great deal of loss in the short run. Under proper conditions wound areas can heal over by producing cork tissue. The protective tissue seems to develop best at relatively high temperature and in moist atmosphere.

Ideally, pumpkins should be cured at temperatures around 80 to 85 degrees for 10 to 20 days and after curing they should be stored at 50 to 60 degrees, with 70 percent humidity. Storage temperatures below 40 degrees will cause chilling injury leading to the fruit rotting in less than 2 or 3 months.

There are many varieties of pumpkins with widely varying shapes, colors and sizes. The mini pumpkins such as Jack B Little, make tasty individual side dishes. Cut off the tops, scoop out the seeds, add a pat of butter and a tablespoon of maple syrup. Bake or microwave until the flesh is soft. You can substitute brown sugar for the maple syrup but it will not taste quite as good!

Canned “pumpkin” that is used to make pumpkin pie is usually not pumpkin at all, but butternut or Hubbard squash, which has a less stringy texture and a sweeter taste. These tasty winter squash also make wonderful soup. Combine two cups of cooked winter squash or pie pumpkin with 1 quart of chicken or vegetable stock. Whizz it all in the blender or food processor, add a pint of light cream and season with salt and pepper plus a dash of nutmeg and perhaps some cinnamon. For a delicious twist on this recipe, add a teaspoon of curry powder or five spice powder.